Never Let You Go
by TheEmberRaven
Summary: At a visit to her parent's house for a while, Kitty feels unwelcome and betrayed and finds comfort in her best friend. KurtxKitty. T for language.
1. Chapter 1

**Never Let Me Go**

**Summary: **At a visit to her parent's house for a while, Kitty feels unwelcome and betrayed and finds comfort in her best friend. KurtxKitty. T for language.

**Disclaimer: Do I own X-men or pretend to be associated with it in any way? Nope, not me. Who suggested that I was? *Shakes head***

oOo

**Chapter 1:**

Kitty hummed along to a random song while she packed her suitcase. She was going away for a week to be with her parents. She hadn't seen them in months, and they promised to spend as much time with her as possible. A few of her cousins and an aunt and uncle were visiting too, so it would be like a tiny family reunion. Kitty could picture baking with her mother, having her dad show her something about mechanics, playing with her cousins, watching movies by the fireside…it was sounding very good to her.

It was spring break. Most of the students were going back to their families for some time together. Only Rouge and Kurt were staying behind, really. And of course, Hank, Logan, and the Professor would be there. But still.

Rouge was nowhere to be seen, but Kitty had stumbled across her earlier and found her in a bad mood. She was probably just upset because she was stuck at the Institute. Kitty felt sorry for her, even though Rouge has practically bitten her head off earlier. It must suck to be alone in the big mansion for a whole week.

Kurt was also keeping to himself, sulking in his room. He didn't mind being left behind—he'd been a year-round student at the Institute for a few years, now—but he would miss Kitty and Evan and all of his friends. He felt alone sometimes as he watched the other students pack up for a big vacation while he had to sit around and entertain himself. It sucked. There was really no other way to look at it.

Since he didn't like feeling depressed, Kurt decided to visit Rouge to see what she was planning for the week. It would take his mind off things. He wasn't completely alone, after all. He had his sister.

Kurt found Rouge in the kitchen in a matter of seconds and tried starting a conversation. However, she made it crystal clear that she was upset and didn't want company, so Kurt decided to exit stage left and find a safer place to hang out. He popped into Kitty's room. Kitty jumped up and whirled around, a tiny gasp escaping her O shaped mouth.

"Whoa, Kurt. Didn't see you there, fuzzy," Kitty said, collecting herself. She placed a blue folded shirt into her suitcase and sat down on her bed.

"What do you want?" she asked, patting the bed and beckoning him to sit beside her. He shook his head, preferring to lean against the wall.

"Nozzing, really. How iz packing coming along?"

Kitty shrugged. "I'm almost finished," she said casually. "I like, can't wait to see my parents. They're going to be sooo excited. It's gonna be great…" she trailed off, realizing she was pretty much rubbing things in his face. "Uh, what are you gonna do for a week, Kurt?"

The blue boy shrugged. "I dunno. Probably vatch TV, play veedeo games, and eat."

Kitty got up, walked over to Kurt, and gave him a hug around the middle. "Oh my poor fuzzy. You're just gonna die from boredom aren't you?" She looked up to see his expression, which borderlined between amused and quizzical.

He sighed, very dramatically. "Ja. You come to mein funeral, ok? No, scratch zat, better not…I wouldn't vant to upset mein Katzchen."

Kitty smiled, burying her face in his chest. "Like, I'll call you, alright? And I made some cookies the other day, so you'll have plenty of junk food to eat."

"Oh, boy, I really am doomed aren't I? Inescapable boredom and Keety's cookies? That's lethal."

Kitty punched him lightly in the ribs. "Hey, my cookies aren't so bad, are they?"

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Remember Bobby tried one the ozzer day? He turned five different colors, Keety. Five. Like a rainbow."

Kitty drew back and spun around on her heels. "Ugh," she said, in mock anger. "Like, get out of my room before I hurt you, fuzz ball."

Kurt smirked, but headed out of the room. "Yeah, I love you too, Katzchen," he called over his shoulder.

Kitty shook her head. "Whatever, fuzzy."

~Later~

The X-Van pulled away along with a few of the older student's own cars, marking the start of Kurt's week alone. He drew away from the window and sighed.

"Goodbye, Keety," he whispered, glancing one last time as the van as it drove off. This was it. Kurt was officially one of the only two students who'd been left behind. He and Rouge were the only two out of twenty-some other students. He felt very lonely, just then, as he had earlier. Only this time, he really was alone, as opposed to before.

He found his way into the kitchen, where he made himself a quick plate of food. He liked to eat when he was upset. Unlike most people who binged, Kurt never had to worry about gaining weight. One of the perks of having a fast metabolism.

Kurt noticed a recently used plate in the sink, meaning Rouge has probably been here just before him. _Just you and me, sister_, he thought. Not that it was a comforting thought. An upset Rouge was more dangerous than a Sentinel, an out-of-control Jean, and an angry Logan put together.

Kurt finished his food and ported up to his room. It was getting late. The sun was sinking below the horizon, the clouds were turning pretty orangey-red colors, and the world was growing dark. Kurt flopped down backwards on his bed and stared up at his ceiling. A whole week virtually alone. No friends, no fun. No Kitty.

Kurt frowned just thinking about it. He rolled over onto his side and closed his eyes.

_This is going to be hell_, he thought.

oOo

**Yay! Chapter 1 is out of the way. This is my fifth story, so I'm doing a little celebration right now. Please R&R. If you don't, I'll make this sad and have somebody die in the end. You wouldn't want that.**

**-The Ember Raven**


	2. Chapter 2

**Never Let Me Go**

**Note: Thank you Sidney and KGirl for your helpful, wonderful reviews. You guys are great! Since I got at least one review, no one is going to die! Yay. I'm gonna shut up now, cause I know you're all here to read my story, not my comments. ~**

oOo

**Chapter 2:**

Kurt was bored out of his mind. He'd tried everything to relieve himself of his boredom, too, from watching TV, to reading, to working out in the Danger Room, to playing chess with Hank. As a last resort, he'd visited Rouge. Her hard feelings toward being stuck in the mansion while the other students enjoyed a vacation had worn off, and the two of them had a nice conversation together.

However, Kurt was still bored. There was nothing to do if there was no one to do it with. Hank spent his time reading and researching and Rouge spent most of her time up in her room, leaving Kurt to wander freely around the mansion by himself. He wanted so badly to talk to one of his friends, but he didn't dare call them. He wouldn't want to interrupt their vacation.

After trying everything to entertain himself and keep himself away from the phone, he finally resigned and accepted the fact that he'd spend all week alone. So it came as a surprise to him when he heard someone knocking on the main doors of the school.

Kurt jumped up and ran into the main entrance room, wondering who could be visiting the mansion. To his surprise, a very familiar young woman was standing on the other side of the glass door. "Keety," he cried, pulling open one of the huge, heavy doors.

Kitty looked down. Her eyes appeared to be wet and red. "Keety why didn't you just ph"—

Kitty fell into his arms and started to cry. Kurt stopped talking and looked down at the pathetic girl in his arms. _Gott, what happened?_ He wondered. He stroked her chocolate brown hair with one hand, not sure how to comfort her.

"Keety, what happened to you? Vhy are you here?" he tried to ask her. She sniffled and stopped sobbing for a moment.

"I hate them," she cried. "I hate them all."

Kurt drew back a little. "Who? Gott, Keety what are you talking about?"

Kitty finally looked up, revealing her tear-streaked face. Her eyes were sad, but also angry. Her mouth kept trembling at the edges, as if she might start crying again. "My parents. My family. They didn't want me there, Kurt."

Kurt, even more confused than ever, hugged Kitty to his chest and teleported them both to her room. Kitty immediately went for her bed. Kurt followed close behind, still not sure what to do. He sat down next to where Kitty had collapsed in a heap and resumed stroking her. She put her head in his lap and sobbed some more.

Eventually, she stopped, and Kurt tried throwing a few questions at her. "Keety, please tell me vhat's wrong. I don't understand. Vhat happened? Why did you leave?"

Kitty groaned. "God, I don't really want to talk about it. My visiting family—my aunt and grandparents…they completely treated me like…like shit! And did my parents do anything about it? Like, oh no! They just ignored it and kept making excuses." Kitty scoffed at the last part in disgust.

"What exactly did your grandparents and aunt do?" Kurt wondered.

Kitty sniffed a little. "Like, the other day I accidentally phased my hand through the table, and later I heard my grandparents whispering about it. I mean, they know I'm a mutant and stuff, but they were being totally mean to me behind my back. And last night, there was this broadcast on TV about a mutant raid or something and my aunt started putting us down. She was all like, 'Serves muties right. Some of them are dangerous and need to be locked up.' And then, like, she looks right at me as she's saying it. And this morning my grandparents were talking to my mom about me being here. They were really uncomfortable having me at the house. I like, totally walked out when I heard that. My parents never stood up for me, Kurt. They just nodded and kept quiet. I mean, God, what kind of parents do I have? I don't ever want to see them again!"

Kurt patted Kitty on the head sympathetically. "Keety, I'm so sorry. That's terrible. But, they're still your parents. You shouldn't hate zem."

Kitty sat up and looked Kurt in the face. Her lip was puckered the way they got whenever she was upset. "If you had parents who treated you like dirt and didn't stand up for you, you'd be angry too. You don't know what it's like. I feel so betrayed right now! They're my parents. I know I shouldn't hate them, but how could they do that to me?"

Kurt sighed and closed his eyes. "I don't know Katzchen. They're not very strong for not fighting against your ozzer relatives, but they are not evil or cruel. They still love you, Keety."

A dangerous look flashed through Kitty's eyes. She exploded. "Yeah, maybe they're not evil, but they're…I don't know…spineless creeps. I don't want to be around parents, or even people like that. I'm finished with them. Like, forever."

"Keety!"

"I am, Kurt. I'm really finished. I don't care that they're my parents. I hate them. You can't understand. You're parents left you." And with that, she phased through the floor and vanished.

Kurt bowed his head and let out a very deep breath. _She didn't mean that_, he told himself. It still hurt like hell.

~#~

It was dark outside. The sun was setting on a long, eventful day. Kurt hadn't spoken to Kitty since their fight, and Kitty had locked herself in one of the girl's bathroom to finish crying her heart out. Rouge had given Kurt a little bit of girl advice, her sympathy for his predicament, and urged him to make things right. Easier said than done.

Eventually, Kurt mustered the courage to find Kitty and talk to her. He found her in her room, of course, standing near the window and looking out across the fading horizon. She still looked upset, even from behind. She was bent forward and her shoulders hung in defeat. Her hair was slightly messed up from earlier.

Kurt entered with caution, knowing how fickle upset girls could be. "Uh, Keety?" he asked, standing safely half-in and half-out of the door way.

Kitty turned her head slowly to look at him. She quickly looked away. "Go away, Kurt. Please," she whispered. Kurt came in a little more.

He worked his way across the room until he was right behind her. He gently wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his face beside hers.

"Keety, I'm sorry about earlier," he began. "I was pushing you when you were upset. I didn't mean to make you angry."

There was a brief silence, then Kitty looked up at him and said, "Kurt why are you apologizing?" Her eyes were watery again. "Like, I was the one eating you alive. You were just trying to help."

He shrugged. "I don't think I succeeded."

Kitty groaned and leaned her weight against him. She ran her hand along the underside of his jaw. "Yes, you did. That's why I was angry, I think. You were right. I mean, I don't like my parents right now and I'm not happy with them, but I shouldn't have said I hated them. You were right and I was angry because I guess I didn't want to hear that. And I'm really sorry about…you know….what I said to you at the end there."

"It's fine. You veren't thinking clearly," he said gently.

Kitty turned around and grabbed Kurt around the middle. She buried her face in his chest. "God, Kurt, I like totally don't deserve you as a friend. You are so sweet."

Kurt blushed a little. Good thing he was blue, or Kitty might have noticed. "Kurt?" Kitty asked, her face still buried in the folds of his shirt.

"Ja?"

"Can you just, like, hold me here for a while?"

Kurt smiled and kissed her gently on the forehead. "Of course," he replied.

"Don't let me go, Kurt."

Kurt squeezed her tighter and kissed her again. "I'll never let you go."

oOo

**Haha it's finished. Sorry I took my time updating this chapter. School was weird this week. I should be back on schedule now for writing a story every other day or so.**

**-The Ember Raven**


	3. Chapter 3

**Never Let You Go**

**Note: I was going to end this story on the previous chapter, but after several people asked for a third chappie, I have complied. This is it, people. No more on this story after this. Sorry. End, fin, erledigt, finis, etc. You get the idea…**

oOo

"So, what do you think I should do?" Kitty and Kurt were lounging on an overstuffed couch in the living room. Kurt had one blue arm around Kitty's shoulders. Her head was resting on his chest. Kurt shrugged slightly. They were discussing Kitty's problems with family. It was going slowly.

"I don't know," Kurt murmured into her soft hair. Kitty had calmed down since she'd stormed into the mansion two days ago.

Kitty squirmed a little and readjusted herself against Kurt's chest. "Well, since I kinda left in such a, uh, storm the other day, they're probably worrying like crazy." Kitty sighed and put one of her arms around Kurt's waist. He squeezed her gently with his tail, which was wrapped around her middle.

"Ja. I'm surprised they haven't called the school or something. You should need to at least talk to them and tell them you're alvight."

Kitty snorted at the notion. "They probably haven't told anybody I'm gone and they don't want to come looking. Don't want people to find out I'm a freaky mutant who goes to the Xavier Institute. That would hurt their rep. God forbid," she added sarcastically.

"You're still being too harsh," Kurt chastised her softly. "Vhy don't you find out what's going on before assuming things?"

Kitty pouted a little and looked up into Kurt's calm face. "You mean, like, actually going home and talking to them?" Kurt nodded, and Kitty pouted some more.

"I really, really don't want to."

"Because you're embarrassed?" Kurt offered. "Ashamed?"

"Yeah. Ashamed to be their daughter. I still can't believe they never stood up for me," Kitty grumbled.

"They're not like you, Keety," Kurt reminded her. "They're not strong and alive like you are. Zat's all. They love you, and I'm sure they're sorry. They didn't mean to hurt you. They wouldn't do zat on purpose."

"What about my other relatives? My grandparents and aunt?" Kitty wondered. "They're still there, I bet. And they _did_ mean to hurt me. I saw it in my aunt's eyes when she was talking about mutants."

"They won't physically hurt you, Keety." _At least, I hope not_, Kurt added mentally. "You just have to get past them."

"I don't think I can do this," Kitty muttered. "I mean, I have to confront my lousy parents, deal with my racist relatives, and somehow make everything work out? No one gets hurt? I don't see how I can do this. Like, if I see my aunt or something, I might get mad and lose my cool. That might not end well, you know?"

Kurt nodded thoughtfully. "Listen. I'll go with you for support, if you vant."

"Uh, no way, Kurt. My grandpa would probably pull out a gun and…yeah. My grandparents are reeeaaally bad around mutants. They believe everything they hear on TV. They think we're like a bunch of murderous, who-knows-what. They barely tolerated me."

"Good point. I could wait outside or something," he offered.

"You would do that?"

"Anything to help mein Katzchen."

~Later~

Kitty stood outside her parent's house. The warm, soft light coming through the windows form inside gave her a little bit of comfort. These were her parents, after all. They still loved her. Kitty took a deep, calming breath and knocked gingerly on the front door.

In a nearby tree, Kurt was watching intently. He didn't want to be seen, and he was really just there in case things got ugly. He doubted it, but still…

Mr. Pryde answered. "Who's th—Kitty?" he cried in surprise. His face was hard to read. He seemed surprised, relieved. It was hard to tell.

When he stepped out onto the porch and nearly crushed her with a hug, Kitty guessed he was pretty happy to see her. "Hi dad," she replied, her voice wavering with emotion.

"God, Katherine. Where have you been? We were worried about you. You left and we weren't sure what happened, and…" he babbled on and on, relief showing on his face.

"Dad?" Kitty said, untangling herself from her father's grasp. "I need to talk to you. Can we go inside?"

Mr. Pryde nodded, his face shifting to something else. Uncertainty? Suspicion? He nodded and led her inside. Kurt leaned forward in the tree as Kitty and her father disappeared into the house. He couldn't see what was going on unless he kept tabs through a window. He nodded at the thought and bamfed next to one of the first-floor windows. Through it, he could see Kitty, Mr., and Mrs. Pryde sitting around a table. Kitty seemed very serious, diplomatic. It was unlike her, but Kurt liked it. She was standing up for herself and her mutant pride.

Kurt stepped back a little. He was just here to observe, not eavesdrop.

Inside, Kitty gathered herself, trying to avoid her parents' questioning, worried gazes. What was she going to say? Would they listen? Finally, she looked into their eyes and exhaled. _You can do this, girl_, she told herself.

"Listen, Mom, Dad, I need to talk to you guys about the other day," Kitty began nervously. She tried to hide the waver in her voice.

"Go on, honey," Mrs. Pryde urged. "We just want to know why you left. What happened?"

Kitty swallowed down her bitter emotions. She could feel someone else's eyes on her—her aunt's maybe? She glanced behind her and caught her grandfather's eyes. Well, someone was watching.

"Grandpa? Please leave," Kitty requested. The old man hesitated, then nodded after getting harsh looks from Kitty's parents.

"I left the other day because I…I overheard Grandma and Grandpa talking to you guys about me. About how they didn't want me here." Her parents both flinched, and Kitty read guilt roll across their faces. She went on, "I was really, really upset. You guys didn't do anything to defend me or tell them they were wrong." Kitty stopped because she was surprised how quickly the hurt and anger swept back over her. She bit back bitter tears and pressed on. "You guys always told me to be proud of whoever or…whatever I turned out to be, but you can't even accept me for what I am."

At this, Kitty stopped entirely. She felt like she might cry. Luckily, her parents intervened and both got up and hugged her. Her mother ran her fingers through her thick hair.

"Sweetie, sweetie. We're sorry. We didn't mean to hurt you like this. Your grandparents are very important to us, and we don't want to hurt our relationship with them, that's all. We are proud of you."

"That's not all," Kitty muttered in a half-sob. "You let Aunt Tanya slide when she was…was making remarks about me, and you never said anything to her or grandma or grandpa. How could you let them do that to me?"

Mr. Pryde sighed and hugged Kitty tighter. "Katherine, we can't control your aunt, or your grandparents. They may not be perfect, but they're our relatives and we have to accept them. Can you blame them for being wary of mutants? The news, the papers, everything is saying negative things that we know aren't true, but they don't live with you. They don't know what we know from living on the inside."

"Right," her mother added. "And if you want us to talk to them about their….childish behavior, we will, sweetheart. I'm so sorry you've been hurt. You know we love you very much as your parents and always accept you, mutant and all."

Kitty sniffed and hugged her mother back. "Just, like, talk to them, ok? I don't want to hurt my relationship with anyone either, but I'm gonna put up with that." Mrs. Pryde nodded.

"We will, Kitty. I promise." Kitty put one arm around her father, too. "Thanks guys." They all kind of stood there, entangled with each other for a minute or so before breaking away from the hug. Kurt frowned from his hiding place. He wouldn't be satisfied until he saw one of Kitty's parents go to talk with the other relatives. Eventually, Mr. Pryde went off to talk with them, wherever they were at. Kitty talked with her mother for a few more minutes about something, before Kitty got up, hugged her one last time, and headed for the door. Kurt immediately bamfed into the front yard and waited.

Kitty emerged a second later, a funny look on her face. She seemed peaceful, but there was still doubt written on her face. Kurt came up beside her and took her arm. "So, how did it go?"

Kitty gave him a sad smile. "Like, don't pretend you didn't sit outside and listen the whole time."

Kurt nodded, smiling guiltily. "Perhaps. I didn't hear much, through. Mostly vatched."

Kitty shrugged. "Well, we cleared some stuff up. Mom says she'll talk with my aunt after Dad talked to all of them about what they did. Dad seemed kinda worked up near the end, there. He might actually be pissed at them now. Anyway, whatever. Just as long as they work stuff out. I'm, like, not going to stick around and watch them fight."

"Seems like you did everything you needed to."

Kitty nodded, hesitating slightly. "I guess." Her voice sounded a bit disappointed.

"Vhat?"

"Like, they never gave me legit reason for not standing up for me. I mean, they said they were 'trying to preserve the family balance' and all, but that's not really good enough. I'm still going to talk to them later, like the next time I decide to call them. We're not through."

Kurt squeezed Kitty's arm. "Vell, you did something, got somevhere. That's a start."

Kitty rested her head on Kurt's neck. "Yeah, whatever, Fuzzy," she muttered, sounding tired. "Like, let's go home. I need to do something to get my mind off this stuff."

"I know just the thing."

"What?"

Kurt kissed her gently on the side of the neck, caressing her softly with one fuzzy hand. "Oh," Kitty murmured. "That'll work just fine, thanks."

"I thought so," Kurt muttered, kissing her again.

*Fin*

oOo

**Ok, now this story is officially over. Sorry I took my time updating the third chapter. I suffered writer's block for where to go with this story and it screwed me up for a while. Read—well, you've already done that—and review. Thanks guys!**

**-The Ember Raven**


End file.
